The Cleveland Browns make sense as sellers ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but reports coming from one insider indicate they prefer to buy.
Cleveland (2-5) could use a true No. 1 wide receiver given how stagnant the offense has been, both with Joe Flacco and now rookie Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterbacks. After a career year, wideout Jerry Jeudy has taken a major step back, and Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report on Friday referred to the receiver as the Browns’ “most disappointing player” to this point in the season.
“The 2024 Pro Bowler has yet to score a touchdown in seven games and is on pace for just 624 yards,” Gagnon wrote. “That would mark the worst healthy season of the 26-year-old’s career.”
One trade target a couple of Cleveland-based radio hosts floated is New York Jets star wideout Garrett Wilson. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com shut down those reports/rumors on Saturday while reporting that the Browns do, in fact, want to add ahead of the November 4 deadline.
“It won’t be Jets receiver Garrett Wilson, because the Jets undoubtedly won’t part with him after they just signed him to a four-year extension in July worth $130 million, including $90 million guaranteed,” Cabot wrote. “Despite rumors on social media, the Browns haven’t given it any thought, in part because they know the Jets wouldn’t consider it, even though they’re 0-7. In fact, they probably won’t add another starting-caliber receiver until the offseason, via the draft, a trade or free agency.”
Wilson, 25, has earned $32 million total through the first four years of his NFL career.
Browns Tied to Garrett Wilson Interest by Cleveland Radio Personalities
GettyNew York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
It wasn’t just social media stirring the pot with regards to a Wilson/Browns trade, but also the “The Tony Rizzo Show” on ESPN Cleveland.
Rizzo and his guest host “Chopz” said on October 22 that they heard Cleveland’s front office was looking into Wilson’s availability.
“There’s a lot of wide receiver chatter out there with the Browns, and [general manager Andrew Berry] is sniffing around,” Chopz said. “Garrett Wilson’s name is popping up right now. … That seems like such an Andrew Berry move, because Garrett Wilson seems to be on the outs in New York because they have a new regime.”
Browns Likely to Consider Less Splashy Trade Targets Than Garrett Wilson, Particularly Considering QB Situation
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Wilson would represent a monster swing at this juncture in the Browns’ roster reconstruction, with rookie QBs in Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders likely to start for the remainder of the season.
Should neither of them set himself apart, Cleveland may use its first-round draft pick to pursue a signal-caller in a solid class of rookie QBs headed to the league in 2026.
But there is something to be said for procuring an elite No. 1 option to help whatever young player ends up becoming the Browns’ next franchise quarterback, particularly if that player is in his mid-20s and under contract through 2030 like Wilson is.
However, Cabot said Saturday it is more likely that Berry and the Browns will look for potentially less flashy additions, albeit meaningful ones of a particular type.
“They would like to land another key player or two like they did cornerback Tyson Campbell in the trade for Greg Newsome II two weeks ago,” Cabot wrote. “If the Browns can find another player or two in his prime that can help them over multiple years, they’ll try to close a deal soon.”
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